Wastelands
by KHchick101
Summary: It was supposed to be a simple search and rescue mission. No one was supposed to get hurt. Especially not Robin.


It's snowing here. I'm always cold. Just a short little diddy to keep you all happy until the next chapter of No Escape.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I'm thankful for all of you! :D

* * *

The nimble Tamaranian's feet touch down into the white snow below. The crunch of her step echoed in the stark landscapes. She was the first one out of the ship, not needing to put on a coat or other snow attire. She didn't need it, but she wore a scarf and a light blanket over her shoulders, after Cyborg's comment he made earlier.

"Girl, I'm cold just looking at you!"

So she wore a cloth to cover the skin of her arms.

The rest of the team popped out soon after, all decked in thick coats, gloves, hats, scarves, and warmth.

"I do not understand why humans are not equipped to live in their own environment. Why are there such extremes on this planet if the inhabitants cannot comfortably live all over the world?" Starfire asked.

"It's fine for some people. Just not us. You'll see different inhabitants up here." Robin answered, Only his mask was visible between his scarf and hat.

"Okay, Robby! You mind telling me why we're all the way out in the middle of nowhere?!" Beast Boy whined.

Robin turned and looked at his teammate. "I gave a synopsis in the jet on the way here. You were too busy complaining to listen to me. I will not repeat myself."

"But..."

"Raven, will you please tell our delinquent member where we are and what we're doing?"

She sighed in irritation. "We're in Nunavut, the northernmost providence of Canada. One of the scientists of STAR Labs has gone missing, and it's up to us to find him."

"Sounds exciting." Beast Boy mocked.

"We'll split up. Beast Boy I need you to go underwater. Apparently, his lab had a window to see under the surface. Star and Rae, you two search through the skies. Look for anything particular. Cyborg, I need you to try to find a radio frequency. There's bad signal up here, so you may not be able to contact each other on the communicators. Be careful and stay warm!"

"What about you Robin?"

"I'm going on foot to the last place he was last seen...we'll rendezvous in two hours back at the ship. If you find something before then, send an emergency flare."

"What about me?!" Beast Boy cried.

"Use sonar to connect with Cyborg. Alright, any questions?"

"Will there be hot chocolate?"

Robin was thoughtful for a moment. "We'll find a cafe in Saskatchewan."

Beast Boy and Starfire high-fived each other.

"Alright team, break."

Star and Raven took off into the sky. Beast Boy turned into a penguin and slid away. Cyborg started setting up equipment while Robin activated the cleats on the bottom of his boots. Using satellite, he located his position and the scientist's last known position. He set out, as a man with a plan.

An hour later, Robin had reached his location. An old rover sat, snow covered and abandoned.

"That's not good..." He mused. "Hello! Dr. Rodinthaw!?" He called. There was no answer. He hurried over to the rover and checked the outside. "Large scratches...looks like it was attacked..." He thought aloud. The driver's door was open, and he crawled inside. Activating a light on his communicator, he examined the inside of the vehicle. The seat was ripped to shreds and covered with dry blood.

"I'm starting to think we may not find Dr. Rodinthaw..."

A pungent odor hit his nose. "Augh, what's that's smell?...holy sh-!"

A giant white paw came out and scratched at him. He fell backwards and scrambled into the snow. The bear followed after him. Robin jumped to his feet, only to fall back down. His awkward landing cost him a twisted ankle.

"Not good, not good, not good!" He crawled with vigor. There was nowhere to go, only flat tundra. The bear hit him and made him slide across the ice. He finally stopped when he hit his head hard on a rock. Robin had barely recovered when the beast chomped down on his side. A shout was elicited from the boy. He kicked up and hit the bears chest, but only caused the beast mild discomfort. In turn, the polar bear swiped his chest and caused deep gashes on in his skin. His coat, in turn, was ripped.

In a desperate escape, Robin whipped out a small spray bottle of mace he had in his belt, for such an occasion. He hit the bear dead in the face and the beast recoiled, grunting.

The polar bear rubbed its face in the snow and retreated back into its home. Much to Robin's relief, the bear had given up the fight.

"Thank god..." He whispered. He very slowly stood, pain gripping at his side and chest. He looked around quickly for his communicator, which he found blinking on the floor of the rover. There was no way he was retrieving that. With a grunt, he wrapped his arms around his wounds and limped away.

He wasn't sure how long he had been walking, and he wasn't sure if he was even going the way he should be. His previous prints had long been covered by snow. He felt dizzy and fogged. Unsteady steps fell slowly, one by one into the snow. He was exhausted and just wanted to sleep. But he had to meet his friends back at the jet. His spinning head made him sick. He shuddered, but pressed onward.

Not much later, his injured foot refused to hold his weight anymore, and he collapsed onto the cold, hard, unforgiving ground.

The snow was cold against his feverish skin. His gaze faded in and out until he fell into darkness.

Starfire and Raven had split up in order to have a more effective search. At least, that's what Raven had said. In reality, she was just sick of Starfire's constant oohs and aahhs at the scenery and her insistent need to play with the arctic foxes and other tundra animals. So she sent her away. Telling her that she could go check in with Robin and tell him that there was nothing to be seen. She had agreed, eager to find her friend.

As she flew, she noticed that the winds and the snow had picked up. She hoped that Raven was alright. It would be getting time to regroup at the jet. Problem was she was having a hard enough time finding Robin, who dressed exceptionally colorful. How was she going to find a jet that was covered in snow?

Suddenly, as she came closer to the ground, she found pink snow.

"That is odd. There is no pink snow that I am aware of." She followed the clumps as the color became brighter and brighter. In fact, red, to be exact. She touched down on the ground.  
'It is blood,' she observed as she looked around, hoping that whatever caused it was long gone. She spotted a snow covered lump, laying a few feet away.

"I think I may have found what happened to our scientist friend..." She mused aloud.  
She approached the body and soon her breath caught in her chest. The figure was surrounded by a small puddle, but that is not what worried her. The man's body was small, his clothing matched her leaders.

"Robin!" She cried as she knelt next to him. She felt his pulse and saw he was still breathing. But he was injured very badly.

"Robin, can you hear me? Wake up! Say something!"

He didn't respond, and she feared for the worse. Acting quickly, she pulled him up from the ground and into her arms. She tucked the blanket she had been wearing, around him.

"Please do not do the dying on me Robin, I will try to get us back!" She lifted into the air. "If the weather stays mild, I shall be able to."

It didn't. Fifteen minutes passed and the rest of the team was nowhere in sight. The wind was too strong and forced Starfire to land, not that she had much joy to stay aloft anyway.

She walked on, pulling her dear friend closer to her to share heat. "I am such the idiot. I should have set off that flare as soon as I saw the blood! Now they would not see it even if I did! And Robin is suffering for my incompetence."

Eventually, they ran across a thicket with tall rocks.

"There will at least be some shelter there." There was a small cavern within the rocks and Starfire placed her injured friend inside. She gathered some sticks and leaves and started a small fire with her starbolts. With the cavern illuminated, she noticed a family of arctic foxes sleeping in the back.

"Please excuse our intrusion. My friend is injured."

The mother of the group looked up and then cuddled back down with her kits.

Starfire turned her attention back to Robin. She unzipped his coat and removed his shirt. She used the white beater he wore under his uniform to clean his wounds. Soaking the cloth with snow, she warmed it with her starbolts. Feather like touches swabbed up the drying blood. No sign of infection at least. He had three large cuts across his chest and his side was punctured by deep teeth marks. At least his bleeding had decreased.

"...S-S-Star...?" He asked quietly.

"Do not move. You are injured."

"...What happened?"

"I found you laying in the snow, unconscious. Tell me, what did happen?"

"...I don't...I don't remember...I think I hit my head."

"This is not a head injury." She gestured to the wounds on his chest.

"Oh...polar bear..." He remembered. "Dr. Rodinthaw...is dead..." He sighed. "...mauled by a bear...like I almost was..."

"Did you fend him off?"

"...I don't remember...I must have hit my head."

"You have stated that previously."

"Then yes...I did hit my head." He laid back on the blanket she placed under his head.

"How bad...are the injuries?"

"They are very deep...I am afraid you will need sutures..."

"I don't have any medical thread...on me...we used the last of it...on the last mission when Raven hit that rock..."

"Oh, yes. That was a bloody mess."

"You're going to have to...cauterize them."

Starfire was appalled. "I cannot do that! You will be in so much more pain!"

He grabbed her hand. "The wounds need to be seared, or I will die from blood loss. It's okay Star, I've felt worse pain."

She ignited a Starbolt in her hand. "You are sure?"

He mustered up a reassuring smile. "Positive. I trust you."

Slowly, she placed the blistering rays onto his skin and pulled it across. Instantly, the bleeding stopped, but Robin wriggled in pain. He gripped Starfire's hand ferociously as he groaned. A tear slipped down her cheek.

Minutes later, Robin panted as the pain slowly receded. Starfire pressed some snow onto the burn to sooth in.

"Please, never ask me to do that ever again." She begged as more tears flowed down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry Star...but...you just saved my life. That's nothing to cry about." He simpered.

She wiped her eyes. "I suppose you are right."

He smiled and then shivered.

"You are cold?"

He was freezing, but he didn't want to worry her anymore. "Just a little."

She removed her metal armbands and torque. Robin's eyes widened as she lifted him from the ground and placed him in her lap. She wrapped the remains of his coat around him and tucked the blanket underneath. Her arms snaked under the cosy coverings and laid against his smooth skin. He was chest to chest with her.

"Better?" She asked as she tucked his head into her shoulder.

His face grew very very hot, and it wasn't just because of the fever. "Y-ye-yeah." He answered shakily.

"Robin, you must rest. Your body must heal."

"No Star, you rest. You're the one who's tired."

"Why don't we both rest then?" She scooted and leaned against the cave wall. "We will find out our friends in the morning, when the winds have died down."

"...okay..." He cuddled against her, trying his best to warm up.

Sometime had passed and Robin had dozed off a bit, but kept waking up. He was progressively getting colder as his fever rose.

Star felt him shivering and wrapped her legs around him. Softly moving her hands against his bare skin, she tried to warm him up, but it was failing.

She looked down at him. "Please forgive me for this..." She slowly peeled off his mask to look at his eyes. "Your pupils are dilated, I believe you have a sustained concussion."

Robin looked up into her eyes in his feverish state. "You're really pretty Star..." He whispered.

"You are delusional, please refrain from speaking before you say something you regret."

He ignored her. "And you're my best friend. I don't know what I'd do without you."

She grew embarrassed, since the love of her life was saying this to her while sitting in her lap. "...you are my best friend as well..." She whispered.

"Would you hate me if I kissed you right now?"

Her eyes grew wide. "I would not, but you may be angry about it later."

"I won't, I promise." He smiled as he touched her lips.

"Your lips are blue..." She stated worriedly.

"We should remedy that." He smirked. His lips found hers in a feverish caress. Her heart soared. She had wanted him to do this for a long time now, and even though the circumstances weren't the most romantic, she still enjoyed every second.

"Your lips are warm." He whispered, his lips still against hers.

She blushed deeply. He rested his cheek against hers.

"Your face is warm too."

"I...am embarrassed..."

"Why? We've kissed before."

"Not like this...this is different..." She was having a hard time speaking as he nuzzled against her.

"This is right." He kissed her cheek gently.

Tears trickled down and touched his skin.

"What's wrong Star?"

"You...this will not last. Stop, before I want you to treat me like this when we go home."

"If you like this..." His breath teased her skin. "You should treasure the time we have together." He kissed her tears away.

She just cried harder. "Robin..."

"I'm cold...warm me up."

She was tired of holding back. He was right there, asking her to hold him, to kiss him. She couldn't take it anymore, and fervently pressed her lips to his. Robin turned his head and deepened the kiss, to Starfire's pleasure. Thoughts between the two were forgotten, as sparks in the cavern flew.

Star's silk lips slipped across Robin's dry cracked lips. Her delicate tongue flicked out and teased his lips. They parted and a dance begun, their teeth occasionally getting in the way as they gnawed at each other. She moved her caresses to his jaw, and then to his neck as she tugged on his scarf. His gloved hands ran over her midriff, returning the embrace. She came back to his mouth and gave one soft, toe curling, kiss. A lazy smile stretched across his face as his cheeks flushed.

She saw the signs, his body was shutting down to sleep. She pulled his hat down to securely warm his ears and tightened his scarf to protect his face. His eyes closed and soon he was asleep. She smiled and snuggled next to him.

"Sweet shlorvaks, my dear Robin."

Robin's mask laid forgotten on the ground.

A young man laid in the hospital room, smothered with blankets. His wounds were healed from the cauterization. He had not woken up from his rescue an hour ago.

Starfire and Robin had slept in the cave for about three hours, before Cyborg was able to catch the signal coming from Star's communicator. Robin had a temperature of 104.7, and it was rising.

Starfire revealed the fate of Dr. Rodinthaw, and the mission was deemed a failure. They were an hour away from Saskatchewan by jet, and that's where they took him for treatment.  
The team sat in the hospital cafe, sipping on hot chocolate, just as the leader had promised. But the feeling in the room was not exactly warm. They were all worried about their leader, especially Star, the one who saw the extent of the damage.

The doctor came in. "Well, your friend is stable, and there's no sign of frostbite. He's resting."

Then he addressed Star, "were you the one who found him?"

"Yes sir."

"Whatever you did to keep him warm...you saved his life. Most patients that are out in that weather either freeze to death or have to have an amputation. He's perfectly fine! You even treated his wounds correctly."

"Really?"

"He's lucky that you were there to help him." He smiled.

Starfire blushed. "I just did what I could to help."

"Well, feel free to come visit him, but he is still asleep."

"Okay, thanks Doc." Cyborg smirked.

"So..." Beast Boy asked after the doctor left. "What exactly did you do to warm him up?"

Starfire turned multiple shades of red. "How dare you ask that?!"

Cyborg and Raven were now interested, because of Starfire's outburst.

"Well, obviously you did something..." Cyborg grinned.

"It is nothing...it was his idea! He was delusional! I told him no but he said it was okay..."

"My goodness, would you just spit it out?"

Starfire became frantic at the phrase 'spit it out'. "I-I have nothing to spit out! I...uh...oh X'hal!" She practically cried.

"What happened?!"

"We did the French kissing!" She shouted before clapping her hand over her mouth and her, now very purple, face.

The team looked at each other, before breaking into laughter.

"We should have known."

"Yeah dude, the tension between these two is insane."

"It's about time."

Starfire couldn't take anymore. She stood up, "Excuse me please, I'm going to check on our friend."

As she was about to go out the door, she heard Cyborg shout, "Before your mouths get too busy doing something else, tell him we're glad he's alright!"

She stormed off.

In his room, she walked in just in time to see him waking up. "Oh, Robin, you're awake."

He blinked a few times to will the sleepiness from his eyes. "Yeah...uh...where am I?"

"In a hospital, in Canada."

He looked perplexed. "Why? What happened?"

"You do not remember?"

"I remember landing in Nunavut and setting off to find Dr. Rodinthaw...but after that, everything is a blur."

"Everything? You do not remember anything at all?"

"Well there's..." He blushed. "Nope. Not a thing."

Starfire was dejected, but was glad she could avoid an awkward conversation.

"So...what happened?"

"Oh! You were attacked by a polar bear, I found you and cauterized the wounds, and then kept you warm until our friends could find us."

"How?" He narrowed his eyes behind his mask.

"How what?"

"How did you keep me warm?"

She wrung her hands in nervousness. "I made a small fire...and I...held you."

"Held me?"

"Yes, like in a hug."

"And that was all?"

She sighed, "I removed your mask to check for a concussion. So...I saw your eyes."

"It's okay. Was I responsive?"

"Very." She chuckled nervously. "That is why I was surprised when you did not remember anything. We had an extensive conversation."

"About what?"

She shrugged. "Nothing exactly." She was a horrible liar, but just hoped he would drop it.

"Anything to keep your mind off of the situation."

"I see..."

The door opened, and the other teammates came in. "Hey Robin! How you feeling?!" Beast Boy shouted coming into the room.

"Not too shabby." He said, sitting up.

"That's it? I would have thought you'd be feeling mighty fine or even glorious!" Cyborg laughed.

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

Starfire shook her head at Cyborg and he caught on.

"Huh uh, right dude, way to play dumb! You know exactly what-"

Cyborg elbowed him and got him to shut up. "Don't mind the green bean, we were just teasing ya about being saved by Star." He looked warily over to make sure he was within jurisdiction. Star nodded.

"Oh, I see." Robin said nonchalantly. "Oh! Did we ever find Rodinthaw?"

"Yeah, but he was killed. So...the mission wasn't successful."

Robin pounded his fist against the mattress. "You're kidding me!"

"You were the one who found him..."

Robin groaned and laid back in the bed. "Great. Just great."

"Don't beat yourself up over it. It was an accident."

"I don't even know what the hell happened! Ugh! Starfire, did I say anything?!"

"No...nothing that I have not said."

"I can't believe this!" As Robin went on a mini triad, Raven shifted over to Starfire.

"So, what does he know?"

"Nothing. Tell the boys to say nothing about it. If he does not remember, I will not bring it up."

"Okay. You alright?" She asked, slightly concerned.

"Yeah. Maybe he'll remember, but if he does not, it is alright. I saved his life. What more could I ask for?" She smiled sadly.

"More." Raven grasped her shoulder. "He's passed overdo."

"I must not be selfish." She countered.

The Titans left Canada for home. The car ride was silent. Robin was irritated and was trying to figure out how he was going to tell STAR labs about the scientist. The rest of the team felt guilty about hiding such a big secret from their friend. Starfire just wanted to go home, and never come out of her room. When they landed, that's exactly where she went. The rest of the day, she stayed locked away to avoid confrontation from her beloved friend.

Robin locked himself in his room, a season of self loath coming in full effect. Raven, Beast Boy, and Cyborg felt the tension between the two swell throughout the night. This trip looked to be a failure all around.

Days passed. Robin got over his tantrum relatively fast, since he wasn't even sure what happened. Soon, he had another problem. He picked up that everyone was hiding something from him and he didn't like it. He also realized that Starfire seemed sadder then he had ever seen her before. And it was chronic, so it wasn't induced by a bad hair day, or a movie with a sad ending. She was avoiding him, choosing to keep the conversations short. She even left the roof before the sun had set, skipping out on their ceremonial night watching.

This had to stop. It wasn't going to happen in a casual setting, he was sure of that. He walked to her room, determined. With one pound on her door, he shouted. "Starfire, my room! Now!" Then he turned around and stormed off.

Starfire's spirit sunk. Did he remember and was mad at her? Was he angry about something else? She could only fear the worse. She walked to his room, shaking the whole way. At the door, she knocked timidly. It instantly slide open.

"Come in." His voice was emotionless.

She stepped in and the door slammed shut. He stood at his desk, the only light being the one illuminating his desk. His hands were folded behind his back. He was in leader mode.

"Please, take a seat." He spoke gently.

"Am I in trouble?" She asked as she sat down.

"Not if you answer honestly."

She swallowed thickly.

"The team is hiding something from me. You are too. What's up?"

"Nothing." She answered, almost too quickly.

"Star, I'm not stupid and I'm not blind. I know there's something going on. Is it the Nunavut trip? Did something happen that I don't know about? Did I do something? I want to know."

She looked to the floor and shook her head. "No...you do not wish to know."

"If I didn't, would I be asking?"

She quietly rose from her seat. "Please believe me Robin, you are better off not knowing what happened. It's better this way."

_This is right._

Tears sprang to her eyes. "It's already caused enough damage." She turned towards the door.

"Starfire!" He yelled. She continued on her way. "You can't just not tell me! Come back here! That's an order!"

"I am so sorry..." She whispered. The door swished shut behind her. Robin swiped the books off of his desk and pounded on it with his fists.

Outside, Starfire crouched, crying.

That night, Robin laid tossing and turning. No matter what he did, he couldn't sleep. That dream kept haunting him. Her scent, her taste, her warmth. It seemed so real, so definite, compared to all the other fantasies he had. He knew she couldn't feel the same way towards him as he did for her. There was no reason for her to. But he loved her, and he couldn't get her off of his mind. The things that he had said in his dreams, things that were brave and bold. Sometimes he wished he could say in real life. Right to her face. But he couldn't. He was too afraid.  
He sat up straight in shock. It couldn't be...had he over looked it the whole time? Everything made sense, things fell into place. He remembered words and promises being shared, and then caresses. He's cheeks grew warm with realization. He kissed Starfire, no, he became intimate with her. He went farther then he thought he ever would. Especially with Bruce breathing down his neck.

Now he felt awful. He had to make things right. He bolted from his bed, opting out of his mask. Down the hall, he knocked timidly on her door.

"Starfire?"

No answer. He entered. She slept with her head dangling over the edge of her bed. Sitting on the floor next to her, he slowly stroked her hair.

"Star?" He whispered, lightly tapping her face. "Wake up please."

She blinked her green orbs up at him. "R-Robin?!" She almost screamed. He hushed her. "What are you doing in here?!"

"We kissed." He stated outright.

She closed her eyes and turned away, indicating that he was right. "And I knew you would be angry about it later."

"I'm not." He smiled. "I came here to explain my actions."

She looked back at him, trying to hide the pain of a second rejection.

"I had a fever, correct? I asked you to kiss me, and to keep me warm was only partially the reason I did."

Her eyes widened.

"If Raven was there instead, I would probably be dead."

"So...you mean-"

"I wanted to kiss you, because I love you Starfire. Only with a foggy mind did I have the guts to act on that desire."

"But it was not just a kiss! It was-!"

"I know. It was a special kiss, one that is only shared between two people that really care for each other. I love you, with all my heart. Do you love me?"

She just blinked at him in more shock. "You are not delusional this time too?"

He smiled. "Of course not." Their lips met in a soft touch. "Is that a yes?"

She giggled as he tucked in next to her. "I love you too."

"Goodnight Star."

"Sweet shlorvaks, my dear Robin." She draped her arms around his neck and kissed him one last time before they both drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Ahhhh! Look out! It's a stampede of ranging hormones! Seriously though, that make out scene could have been even more...delicious. But, I couldn't do it. I was too embarrassed.


End file.
